Hi,
I am looking into possibly getting my CDL (and I apologize to the mods if this has to be moved to another section of the forum) but I have a few questions that I can't seem to find an answer to anywhere else on this forum that is currently making me question about actually getting a CDL and possibly going OTR for a few years before switching to regional or local. If anybody can give me a few answers/advice on any of the questions I have it would be greatly appreciated.

The questions are as follows:
1. Has anyone been able to go from having debt that they could manage but couldn't pay off with a non-CDL job but was able to pay off said debt after they got a CDL?

2. If one goes to a private truck school and has an offer of pre-hire with a certain company or decides to sign-on with a company that sent a recruiter to the school during the course of the class, how long after graduation from the school and obtaining the actual CDL before work begins? And, since I saw a mention of this in another post, how often does it happen that a company will pre-hire them before they get their CDL and then turn around and tell them that they can't work for the company after the person gets their CDL?

3. If I were to go to a private school (I don't know yet if the community college offers a course or not) and get my CDL and sign on with a company for a period of time what's the worst situation that could happen in terms of pay? I know that the admissions officer/advisor for the school I've already talked to said that the starting is around .25 cpm (might have been .26 cpm) but are there companies that start less than .2 cpm? And what's the worse case scenario on the average miles per week?

I have a few more questions, but I'm hoping that I can get some answers to the first question since it is most relevant to the title of the thread.

Are you single or married? That is a big one. Yes, the possibility exists for saving lots of money, but only if you are that type of individual. Give up your apartment, sell or store your furniture, and live in the truck full time. That puts you a grand or so ahead each month right from the start. Are you the type to plan ahead, go shopping, and eat in your truck? Or will you be blowing $20 a day in truck stops to eat? Are you the type to hang out in truck stops and blow money or gamble? There are ways to save a lot of money, or spend a lot of money in trucking.

As for starting pay, there are companies out there that will start you off much higher than .26. Since you think that you will be attending a private school, you might want to look for those companies that will reimburse your tuition if you stay with them for a year. You aren't contracted to that company, but you have a financial incentive to stay.

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I also wanted to know if it sounds smart to save up a grand or so for monthly bills if the training pay would only be $200 or so for the first two weeks or more and the take home is not much more than that for the first few months after that or could I expect take home pay to be more once the company training is completed?

I'm not looking to make a killing in the trucking industry at first, but if I can make at least double what I'm making now I might be able to go debt-free in 1-3 years and eventually I'd like to have enough saved up that I could get a place of my own with at least a 20% down payment which would also be determined by if/when I wanted to switch to a local or regional that allowed weekends off. I've even considered going team with a future spouse provided I find the right person.

Any input or advice would be welcomed.

Good luck!

The best way to make a small fortune in trucking is to start with a large fortune. You might be lucky enough to get out with a small fortune.

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The companies that I was looking at for my husband last year would pay the tuition reimbursement, anywhere from 3-5 grand, regardless if you had a student loan or not. You had to start work within 30 days of graduation though. The company that he went with paid him $150 a month, and then paid the remaining lump sum to him when he hit his 1 year mark. They don't care that we paid off other bills with that money and still have the student loan.

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Another question I thought of that only surfaced when I read a post by nwtrucker regarding Werner firing him because of misleading information given by a former employer.

I don't exactly have the situation nwtrucker was in when he posted over in the Experienced Truckers Advice Forum, but I do have what might be cause for concern.

I went to a private Christian University for a couple of years (part of the reason for the debt I want to try and pay off) and while I was there I worked as a student worker in both the Cafeteria and the student center. I can't remember who any of the supervisors or managers were at the time when I was working there but I can provide a phone number to call for reference purposes. This situation also applies to the job I had with Vector Marketing for a month before I went to college. My question is whether or not a trucking company will be stiff-necked about this small fact and consider those two jobs as bad references or in the case of the job at the University, which I was considered as a student worker and only worked in the Cafeteria the first two semesters and the student center for one, would it be nothing to worry about? Also when I have filled out other job applications I list the time I spent as a student worker while at a study abroad program which only lasted a few months. I know there might not be an answer to this, but since I really would like to get a career as a trucker I don't want to have anything that could hurt my prospects.

Put down a name with the phone number.


Mike or Tom or Jim or you get the picture. Even IF they did call them they response they'll get will be "oh I'm sorry they aren't here any more, but would you like to talk to Henry?"

Normally a trucking job only references the last 1 or 2 jobs. The rest is just part of the stupid gooberment making us fill out 10 yrs of yob history.

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if you are a company driver you can make good money.
I had 3k in the bank when I quit my first driving job at that was after I paid 1k per month to the bills.

Best of luck!

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Dan H.
Sociology Student
Studying the Work Lives of Truck Drivers

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